I have been informed that any request for an interview with a national media outlet/reporter must now receive prior approval by DOC. Please ensure everyone on your staff is aware of this requirement.

Any request for an interview requires the following information to be forwarded to me immediately, so this process may begin:

The name of the reporter and their affiliation; Their deadline and contact phone number; Name of individual being requested for the interview and purpose of the interview; Additional background about the interview subject, and expertise of requested interviewee on this subject.

The request will be forwarded through NWS/NOAA to DOC; however, the individual to be interviewed ultimately will be determined by DOC.

If any requests for an update concerning the interview are received from the media, refer the individual to me for a response via my cell phone: (XXX) XXX-3516.

Thanks, Jim Teet

BTW, While Teet is new to NOAA’s press office, starting in June of this year, he is not new to the PR field, having served as Community Relations Chief and External Relations Chief at Laughlin Air Force Base directly prior to joining NOAA.

Teet provided support in 1999 for spokeswoman Karen Hughes’ defense of then Governor George W. Bush’s National Guard record, claiming that training constituted “active duty.” ..............

“Prior to this policy change, if a media organization called our office (or any other National Weather Service office) and wanted an interview, we would do our best to accommodate the request as quickly as possible,” said one NOAA employee who requested anonymity. “While often such requests are from local media, local offices do get requests from national media if a weather event is big enough to be a national story.”

The policy requires that local weather offices forward media requests to the NWS press office, who in turn would forward the request on to the Commerce Department’s public relations office. The Department would then decide whether comment should be granted.

Under this new policy, the Department, rather than the weather agencies, would also determine who would then provide comment.

“There has been no explanation as to why this policy was issued. It does appear the intent of this policy is to restrict the flow of weather information to the national media,” said the NOAA employee who also expressed concern over why Commerce is suddenly making blanket policy decisions for the NWS and deciding who can speak to the media.......